In a chemically hazardous environment, it is often necessary for an individual wearing a protective mask, for example, a face mask or a gas mask, to drink water or other fluids from a canteen or another closed fluid storage container without removing the protective mask or contaminating the fluid.
Past devices designed for the transfer of fluids from a closed canteen or storage vessel to a person wearing a protective mask do not adequately prevent contamination of the fluid or the individual. In addition, past devices have also contained excessive parts. Excessive parts can increase both the susceptibility of the device to damage or the manufacturing costs. Past devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,116 entitled, “Adaptor for Providing Fluid Control Between a Canteen and a Face Mask Fluid Tube,” to Savage et al., issued Dec. 4, 2001.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a fluid delivery system that prevents harmful contamination. Further, there exists a need for a fluid delivery system that is simple in design, economical to manufacture, readily adaptable to protective equipment already in widespread use, and manufactured in a manner and with materials which allow the integrity of the fluid delivery system to be maintained, in all inclement, chemically or biologically hostile, or combat environments.